Mpumalanga Tourism, 21 September 2018

With a number of events and happenings having taken place throughout the month of September in recognition of the 2018 World Tourism Day, as part of the Tourism Month Programme, the province of Mpumalanga has fully embraced the theme of “Tourism and the Digital Transformation". Bringing various related workshops, focus groups and other events to highlight the critical role that the “Digital Revolution” now plays in the tourism sector, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency remains committed to fostering a digital entrepreneurial spirit amongst local business owners throughout the province.

Where having a digital presence is now a critical requirement for all service providers, destinations and tourism specialists in South Africa’s local and international travel sectors, the need to educate, inform and empower small business owners on the importance of embracing digital transformation continues to be a priority of the MTPA.

As part of this year’s United Nations World Tourism Organization 2018 World Tourism Day celebrations, aptly aligned to the underlying theme of leveraging tourism through digital transformation, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency has hosted a trade workshop on Digital Tourism Transformation and how to take advantage of the many tourism opportunities that now exist across various digital platforms and communities.

Together with the Nkangala District Municipality, the MTPA has presented an insightful workshop aimed at Tourism Digital Transformation. Industry players from all avenues of service and product delivery related to Mpumalanga’s travel and tourism sector were offered a one of a kind opportunity to leverage new ways to do business through utilising digital resources and technology.

Hosted on the 19th of September 2018, the MTPA Digital Tourism Transformation Workshop featured guest panellists from various fields to share insights and experiences on tried and tested ways to integrate digital technology in bolstering the tourism sector. The esteemed team of panel members included representatives from National Department of Tourism; Tourism Information office in Dullstroom; Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business & Tourism; South African Tourism and Tsogo Sun Group.

By making use of various digital platforms including websites, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Search Engines) as well as mobile applications, digital technology has altered the way that business owners previously did business and can now ultimately take advantage of new opportunities that exist as a result of the technological revolution. Where digital platforms can now be put to use to improve marketing efforts, booking procedures and the ever important bottom line revenue, benefits are even further reaching to this, embracing technology and digital opportunities will not only build businesses but by default this will also help to contribute in strengthening the South African tourism sector as a competitive global destination of choice.

Empowering Mpumalanga’s tourism business owners, tour operators, and travel service providers; from sole proprietorsto small and medium operators, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency encourages the local tourism sector to integrate new ways of doing business and embracing new opportunities that now exist as a result of digital technology with existing operations, bolstering domestic and international travel to the “Place of the rising Sun”.